Typical cooling modules for vehicle engines generally include three separate parts: a fan, an electric motor to drive the fan, and a shroud to cover the blades of the fan and to mount the module. An example of such a module is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,548,548 to Gray, III. The structure disclosed in the Gray, III patent includes a motor that is not easily integrated with the fan and shroud, which results in a module having a significant overall axial length.
In certain applications, due to space and environmental constraints, it is desirable to provide an engine cooling module of reduced axial length and, to reduce costs, having reduced number of module parts.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide an improved cooling module for an electronically controlled engine which has a motor integrated with a fan and shroud to provide a module having a reduced axial length and fewer parts.